Gentle reader, please refer to yesterday’s posting in order to see the introduction to these two entries. Here are the remaining Fundamental Questions of Existence to ponder.
Why are we here? This is a question of purpose. This question can be engaged at three levels: the Personal, the Relational, the Communal. So, ‘I’ need to engage the question for ‘me.’ Why am I here? What is my purpose – perhaps my noble purpose? Why do I get up on Monday mornings? What is my call [i.e. what are my gifts and talents and what is a need in my world that requires them?] What makes me ‘unique’ – no one else will ever be this ‘unique’ and so what is my ‘obligation’ when it comes to bringing my uniqueness to the world? What is the purpose of our relationship? What are we called to, together? If our relationship did not exist would we need to create it? As a community (school, organization, church, social agency, government, society, world. . .) what is our purpose; why do we exist? What are we called to? Ah, there are so many questions we could emerge and engage.
What ultimately matters? This is a question of meaning. As humans we are, by nature, ‘meaning-makers.’ Is my life in and of its self meaningful? Is the work I do in and of its self meaningful? How do we make meaning together? There are levels of meaning here also: the religious level, the philosophical level, the ‘concrete’ level (sweeping the floor, changing a diaper, sitting with the sick, visiting the ‘walled-in,’ etc). Does it matter that we consume without replenishing? How can we begin to discern ‘what ultimately matters’?
How are we to live? This is a question of morality and right action. What are our duties and obligations? What ‘credo’ or ‘credos’ do we choose to follow? Why? Do we choose to live with integrity or do we choose to betray our integrity? Do we choose to live rooted in surety or rooted in doubt – can we choose both at the same time? Who defines ‘right and wrong?’ Can we legislate morality? What are the values, guiding principles, beliefs, etc that we choose to follow? When is caring for another potentially immoral? Who determines what is moral? Is all morality ‘relative’?
What happens when we die? This is a question of ‘finality’ AND ‘continuity.’ What is the legacy I-you-we want to leave? What is the story that will be told after we die? What is the story we want others to tell? How ‘final’ is death – or is death the ‘beginning’? ‘Faith-based’ questions are important and they are not the only questions that we can (or is it ‘need’ or is it ‘must’) embrace and address.
I could go on and on with each of these Fundamental Questions; so I will stop at this point. I do invite you, gentle reader, to emerge more questions for one of more of the Fundamental Questions of Existence that I offer you in these two entries. I also invite you to choose some questions and then spend time with others and enter into a searching conversation with them in response to those questions.
Searcher-Seeker 